WBCS MAIN EXAM QUESTIONS & ANSWERS :
ANCIENT HISTORY
PART—1
- Who is the author of the Book “Asoka and decline of the Mauryas” ?(published in 1961)
(A) D. N. Jha
(B) Romila Thapar ✔
(C) R. S. Sharma
(D) A. L. Basham
- Who composed the Aihole Inscription ?
(634)
(A) Ravikirti ✔
(B) Harisen
(C) Bilhan
(D) None of the above
- King “Chandra” of Mehrauli Iron Pillar inscription has been identified with
(A) Chandragupta Maurya
(B) Chandragupa I (Gupta)
(C) Chandrasen
(D) Chandragupta II (Gupta)✔
- The ruins of Harappa were first noticed by
(1826)
(A) M. S. Vats
(B) M. Wheeler
(C) B. B. Lal
(D) Charles Mason✔
- Both Lord Buddha and Mahavira died in the reign of (483 BCE & 467 BCE)
(A) Bimbisara
(B) Ajatasatru ✔
(C) Udayin
(D) Dasratha
- Who was the founder of the ‘Ajivika’ sect ?
(5th century BCE)
(A) Purana Kassap
(B) Pakudha Kaccayana
(C) Makkaii Gosala ✔
(D) Ajit Kesakambalin
- Which of the following is not a representative of the Buddhist art ?
(Gopuram – Dravidian architecture)
(A) Stupa
(B) Gopuram ✔
(C) Vihara
(D) Chaitya
- Which of the following periods was considered by Gordon Childe as a period of “revolution” ?(around 10,000 BCE)
(A) Palaeolithic
(B) Mesolithic
(C) Neolithic ✔
(D) Harappan
- Among the Bronze Age Civilizations which one was undoubtedly the largest in extent ?
(A) Egyptian
(B) Mesopotamian
(C) Harappan ✔
(D) Mehargarh
- The urban centers of the Harappan Civilisation faded out around –
(A) 2200 BC
(B) 2100-2000 BC
(C) 2000-1900 BC
(D) 1800-1750 BC☑️
- The most prominent deity in the Rigveda was
(A) Agni
(B) Indra ✔
(C) Vishnu
(D) Shiva
- Which of the following areas were viewed as impure by the later Vedic authors ?
(A) Anga
(B) Magadha
(C) Vanga
(D) All of the above✔
- The most celebrated river in the Rigveda was
(A) Ganga
(B) Saraswati ✔
(C) Sindhu (Indus)
(D) Yamuna
- Which geographical region of India witnessed the maximum concentration of the Mahajanapadas in the 6th century BC ?
(A) North India ✔
(B) Godavari valley
(C) Malwa plateau
(D) North-West frontier of the subcontinent
- Which one of the following events of Buddha’s life did not take place on a full moon day (Purnima) ?
(A) Birth
(B) Death
(C) Enlightenment
(D) Renunciation✔
- In the long history of domestication of animals, according to Wenke which was the earliest animal to be domesticated ?
(A) Goat ✔
(B) Pig
(C) Horse
(D) Dog
- Microliths are typical of(35,000 to 3,000 years ago)
(A) Paleolithic Age
(B) Mesolithic Age ✔
(C) Neolithic Age
(D) Chalcolithic Age
- The earliest evidence of settled agriculture in the subcontinent comes from
(7000 BCE)
(A) Mehargarh ✔
(B) Amri
(C) Kalibangan
(D) Dholavira
- In which State of India Ataranji kheda is situated ?(Etah district, bank of Kali river)
(A) Bihar
(B) Madhya Pradesh
(C) U.P.✔
(D) Gujarat
- The first Indian rulers to issue gold coins on the Roman pattern were
(A) Sungas
(B) Kushanas ✔
(C) Indo-Greeks
(D) Vakataka
- Which of the following 7th century Chinese travelers lived for ten years in the great monastery of Nalanda ?
(A) Fa-Hien
(B) Hiuen Tsang
(C) Yijing ✔
(D) Arrian
- Which of the following is considered to be the earliest Indian text on music ?
(A) Krishna Yajurveda
(B) Atharva Veda
(C) Sama Veda ✔
(D) Purusha Shukta
- The earliest known stone tools in the Indian subcontinent have been discovered from-
(A) Potwar plateau in Pakistan✔
(B) Hungsi Valley (Karnataka)
(C) Didwana (Rajasthan)
(D) Bhimbetka (M.P.)
- The oldest deciphered script of the Indian subcontinent.
(A) Brahmi✔
(B) Harappan
(C) Prakrit
(D) Devanagari
- In the Buddhist context, which one refers to texts that are supposed to contain what the Buddha himself said ?
(A) Sutta ✔
(B) Vinaya
(C) Abhidhamma
(D) Milindapanha
- There are Four Vedas and each Veda has _____ parts.
(A) two
(B) three
(C) four ✔
(D) six
- Rummindei pillar of Ashoka is put up to mark Buddha’s(Lumbini, Nepal )
(A) Birth ✔
(B) Enlightenment
(C) First Sermon
(D) Death
- Name the author of ‘Pancharatra’ and ‘Svapna-Vasavadatta’
(A) Kalidasa
(B) Bhasa ✔
(C) Ashvaghosha
(D) Kalhan
- Which style of architecture was developed by the Chalukyas of Badami ?
(A) Vesara ✔
(B) Dravida
(C) Nagara
(D) Gopuram
- Which dynasty described itself as the ‘Brahma-Kshatriya‘ ?(1097-1230)
(A) Senas ✔
(B) Palas
(C) Rashtrakutas
(D) Pratiharas
- The dynasty which Harshavardhan belonged to was(606-647)
(A) Varmans
(B) Maukharis
(C) Pushyamitras
(D) Pushyabhutis✔
- By whom was the kulinism (system of nobility among Brahmins and kayasthas) in Bengal started ?
(A) Gopal
(B) Dharmapal
(C) Vijayasena
(D) Ballalasena✔
- By whom and when the Gupta era was started ?
(A) Kumargupta I in 324 CE
(B) Srigupta in 309-10 CE .
(C) Chandragupta l in 319-320 CE✔
(D) Samudragupta in 324 CE
- Who among the following was the first to describe Sudras as a class of agriculturists ?
(A) Manu
(B) Fa Hien
(C) Hiuen Tsang ✔
(D) Narad
- Which of the following Gupta rulers is said to have embraced Buddhism towards the end of his life and also founded the Nalanda University ?
(A) Skandagupta
(B) Buddhagupta
(C) Purugupta
(D) Kumaragupta l✔
- Which Chalukya ruler is credited with repelling the Arab invasion of South Gujarat ?
(A) Vikramaditya I
(B) Pulakesin I
(C) Pulakesin ll
(D) Vikramaditya II✔
- Which one of the following was not situated in the Ganga plain?
(A) Kosala Kingdom
(B) Asmaka Kingdom✔
(C) Vatsya Kingdom
(D) Magadha Kingdom
38.At which of the following places has the largest belt of painted rock shelter of pre-historic period been found ?
(A) Bhaja
(B) Bhimbetka ✔
(C) Bagor
(D) Ajanta
- Official stamping of weights and measures and their periodical inspection are prescribed by
(A) Manu ✔
(B) Narada
(C) Brihaspati
(D) Parasara
- The Kharosthi script derived from
(A) Pictographs
(B) Aramaic ✔
(C) Sanskrit
(D) Brahmi
- Name the class which is conspicuous by its absence from the list of seven classes given by Megasthenes
(A) Artisans
(B) Traders ✔
(C) Cultivators
(D) Philosophers
- The Gold coins of the Gupta dynasty were known as
(A) Sataman
(B) Dinara ✔
(C) Muhara
(D) Varaha
- The language of the Jain religious text was
(A) Sanskrit
(B) Pali
(C) Prakrit ✔
(D) Bengali
- Which of the following sources states that Srinagar was built by Asoka ?
(A) Divyavadana
(B) Rajatarangini ✔
(C) Taranath’s History of Tibet
(D) Mahavamsa
- Rummindei pillar of Asoka is put up to mark Buddha’s (Lumbini, Nepal)
(A) Birth ✔
(B) Enlightenment
(C) First Sermon
(D) Death
- The name of our motherland ‘Bharata’ was first mentioned in
(A) Vishnu Purana ✔
(B) Vayu Purana
(C) Markendaya Purana
(D) Matsya Purana
- We know about the Bactrian Greeks only from
(A) Inscriptions
(B) Coins ✔
(C) Manuscripts
(D) Relics
- Who introduced Gold Coins in India ?
(A) The Mauryas
(B) The Kushanas
(C) The Greeks ✔
(D) The Cholas
- Who was Minandar ?
(A) A Parthian king
(B) A Bactrian Greek King ✔
(C) A Saka King
(D) None of the above
- Who wrote Milindapanha ?
(A) Asvaghosha
(B) Nagarjuna
(C) Basumitra
(D) Nagasena✔